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Catalinbread  |  SKU: I472430-N

Catalinbread Belle Epoch Tape Echo Emulation Delay Pedal

MSRP: $29400

$20999 USD
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About Inventory Status

Questions? Call or text us at 301-946-8808.

In stock: It is in stock and available to ship or pickup. Apparel must be shipped from another location and is not available for in-store pickup. We can usually ship or have these items available for pickup by the next business day if they don't require inspection, special handling, or setup. Our pickup location is 11151 Veirs Mill Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20902.

📆 Preorder: It is on the way to our warehouse. We can't predict when preorder items will arrive due to current supply chain issues. If you place an order for one of these items someone will contact you to estimate the delivery date.

Out of stock: We don't currently have it available but you're not out of luck yet. We still may be able to get it. If you order one of these items we will contact you with an estimated fulfillment date. You have the option to cancel the order if you change your mind.

Special order: The item is so special that it needs to be custom ordered for you. Some of these items are works of art and have to be made individually. Orders for special order items must be prepaid and we cannot accept cancellations or refunds.

█ Sold out: We don't think we can get this item because it was either discontinued by the manufacturer or was limited in quantity. If you want or need this item call or text us. Sometimes we can help you track down the item through other sources or help you find something similar.

About Item Conditions

Questions? Call or text us at 301-946-8808.

New: The item is brand new as received from the manufacturer with a full manufacturer warranty. Instruments such as guitars, snare drums, drum kits, brass and woodwind instruments may be opened for photography and quality control inspection and may not be in a factory sealed box.

Mint or Open Box: The item may have been opened and tested but has been repackaged. The original packaging may have superficial issues but the item itself and any originally included accessories are in perfect, like new condition.

Display Model: These items are so cool that we put them on display in our legendary shop. The condition is brand new as received from the manufacturer with manufacturer warranty. Rest assured, these items undergo a very careful inspection before shipping.

Demo: These items have been on our sales floor for demo purposes and will likely show signs of use. The original packaging may no longer be included, but you can be assured that you are receiving an awesome item and an awesome price.

Used: The item is used. These item may have varying degrees of wear. Please read the description for information about the condition of the item. Used items do not carry a warranty.

B or C Stock: Factory refurbished. These items were purchased from the manufacturer in a refurbished condition. They will show some cosmetic issues, but nothing that would impact performance. Being that these are sealed from the manufacturer, we generally do not open these to photograph the cosmetic issues. They are guaranteed to work and may have a limited warranty or you may purchase an extended warranty in some cases. Please see the listing description for item specific information.

Description


Reap Some Repeats With The Catalinbread Belle Epoch Tape Echo Emulation Delay Pedal

The Catalinbread Belle Epoch Tape Echo has tape echo sounds so authentic you’d swear there was tape inside the pedal! Inspired by the Maestro Echoplex, EP-3 model, perhaps the most famous tape delay ever, the Belle Epoch features everything you love about the EP-3 in a small, maintenance-free pedal format. We felt that a “tape echo” pedal was much more than just a standard digital delay with some “filtering” on the repeats. There are a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle traits of the Echoplex that needed to be implemented in order to be authentic. The preamp, the self-oscillation character, the ability to control the “record level” of the signal hitting “tape”, the wow and flutter, the way the repeats decay, the way the circuit interfaces with the amp and other pedals – all these things were important to get right. The original unit was used as a musical instrument unto itself and this is what Catalinbread captured with the Belle Epoch.

PREAMP 

Famous for making your guitar sound better even when the echoes are turned off.

QUALITY OF REPEATS 

The Echoplex was not necessarily “hi-fi”. As the echoes repeated, the signal got progressively degraded, losing low end and gaining a shiny, percussive top end with a bit of grit. The first repeat is strong and then it gets more and more diffused as it repeats. And in a well-tuned unit, you could dial in the repeats “Echo Sustain” so that it would float almost indefinitely, or cross the threshold to self-oscillation

RECORD LEVEL

There’s a control on the EP-3 that sets how hard the tape gets hit. While this control was ostensibly used to optimize signal-to-noise ratio, set low it would give light and airy repeats, and set high it would saturate the tape hard and give an awesome fat and grungy repeat tone.

WOW AND FLUTTER

Catalinbread designed the Belle Epoch’s modulation control to simulate the daily mechanical irregularities inherent in original Echoplex units. This would typically include bumpy capstan wheels, uneven tape tension, uneven motor speed, humidity, and actual ghosts?

HEAD DRAG

The original unit had a unique quality that when moving the delay time slider it took a moment to catch up to the adjustment, creating a doppler-like effect. The Belle Epoch reproduces this behavior while you turn the echo delay knob.


Manufacturer: Catalinbread
Model: BELLE EPOCH
SKU: I472430-N-0-WHXC
UPC: 853710004840


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